A Reluctant Seaman

In this third autobiographical novel we follow Roger Wallace as he faces the demands and culture shock of National Service in the Royal Navy from 1949 to 1951.

To begin with it seems that life is just an endless nightmare of fatigues and training, but fortunately Roger’s prowess at cross-country helps him through this stage. He also finds, as in his boarding-school days, that he has a natural capacity to help and side with those who are being ill-treated, even though this causes trouble for himself.

He soon learns to take every opportunity of enjoyment that the Navy offers, despite misgivings about the Korean War. He also begins to fundamentally doubt his religious upbringing and finds himself, almost by accident, performing ‘alternative’ ceremonies at a friend’s wedding and an associate’s funeral, both to considerable acclaim.

Romantic and sexual experiences are a continuing influence in Roger’s life, but it seems that a misunderstanding will ruin his chance of happiness with Gladys, his first love from his school-days, as she plans to marry someone else.

Finally, helped by a kindly officer, he is able to make preparations for life beyond National Service, taking the first crucial steps towards his adult life and a new career.

Again, as in both An Evacuee and A Prized Pupil!, by writing from his own experiences the author evokes the genuine feelings of a young man in the mid-twentieth century.